using tells to play hole card strategy

[callipygian]

I don't know if it comes from reading outdated material or what

It was a viable strategy in the days when the dealer checked for BJ with a simple U-mirror. Often, A would be difficult to tell apart from 4, and sloppy dealers would constantly be double-checking their T4's to make sure it was TA.

Since most places (at least in Vegas) have moved to whatever optical scanning system they use now, they don't even physically see the corner - all they have to go on is the red or green light.

Even if they still have the U-mirror, there's simply heavy black bars that indicate a ten or ace. The numbers on the non-ten, non-ace cards are set back so they physically can't be seen from the mirror.

The simplest way to convince yourself this can/can't be done is to buy a deck of cards from the casino gift shop to see how they're arranged.

 

[Future Pro]

Even if you could see the dealers cards, hitting 17, 18, 19 consistently would surely cause further investigation from the pit, therfore blowing your advantage?

I'm surprised it took this long for this to be mentioned. Let's assume this tell is correct for a minute, isn't one of the goals to avoid much heat? Hit a hard 17-19 once and watch the pit scramble. I'm new to this, but to me that sounds about as bright as setting a card counting book on the table next to you while you play. (No offense intended, just making my point)